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Governors in the Southern states were presented with findings from a new report on the growing gap in middle-skill jobs and urged to adopt a three-part policy framework for reversing the trend during the Southern Governors' Association annual meeting last week in Asheville, NC. The report found that middle-skill jobs account for 51 percent of the region's jobs today, but only about 43 percent of the region's workers are currently trained at this level.

Educational attainment rates in the U.S. rose in both 2007 and 2008, after falling in 2005 and 2006, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Despite the mid-decade dip, the overall trend over the past few decades has been toward higher rates of attainment at the high school, Bachelor's and advanced degree levels. As of 2008, about 85 percent of the U.S. population had completed high school, up from 80.4 percent in 2000 and 75.2 in 1990. About 27.7 percent of U.S.

The Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council seeks to hire a program manager to oversee activities of the RI Research Alliance.

During the upcoming legislative session in Missouri, lawmakers will consider a proposal by Gov. Jay Nixon to create a funding source aimed at attracting top scientists, commercializing research, recruiting and building science infrastructure, and creating capital programs for early-stage technology companies. The Missouri Science and Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) would dedicate an annual portion of new tax revenues generated by biotechnology companies to a newly-created state fund administered by the Missouri Technology Corporation.

Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled last month an $11.3 billion spending plan for FY11 that maintains level funding for higher education and slightly reduces funding for the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR). The governor's FY11 budget plan addresses a $693 million shortfall, which is spread across FY10-11 and anticipates $34 million in state revenue growth during the next year.  Read more ...

Arizona's state, regional and university leaders already have made efforts to stimulate elements of a high-tech economy; however, missing are key fundamentals necessary for the state to compete on a national level, finds a report on Arizona's tech economy.

Government intervention in the venture capital industry might be the key to boosting the performance of venture-backed businesses, according to a recent report published by the World Economic Forum. A review of 28,800 venture-backed firms from 126 countries found that enterprises receiving moderate levels of government venture capital support outperformed other firms in terms of value creation and patent creation.  Read more ...

There is no simple answer to a frequently asked question that SSTI receives: what should we expect to be a good return on public investment in research? A new working paper available from the National Bureau of Economic Research helps clarify the range of possible answers, though, and strongly suggests the investment is worthwhile.

The Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy and the Navy will invest up to $510 million during the next three years to produce advanced drop-in biofuels to power military and commercial transportation. To accelerate the production of these advanced bio-based jet and diesel fuels, the federal agencies in partnership with the private sector will work to jointly construct or retrofit several drop-in biofuel plants and refineries.

From undertaking a joint regional initiative to improve two cities' competitiveness in advanced manufacturing to launching an effort for engaging venture capital companies and bringing in top university students to showcase area opportunities, mayors in Lexington and Louisville, Boston and Chicago recognize the value in promoting their cities as top destinations for growing tech-based economies. While each of the three recent announcements detailed below target different sectors of the innovation economy, they share the same mission of making their region more desirable for startups.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom hopes that by the fall, lawmakers will enact a comprehensive legislative reform of state economic development entities in order to begin implementing a plan for growth and competitiveness that builds on the diverse strengths of California's regional economies. The lieutenant governor last week presented the first statewide economic plan in more than 10 years, outlining steps to develop a new economic model that "embraces the shift from a consumption-based economy to a production economy focused on global trade."

Congressional conferees on the FY10 Consolidated Appropriations Act picked the higher funding level between the House and Senate versions of the FY10 budget on many line items of interest to the TBED community. Despite its high-wage job potential, direct support for innovation-based regional growth strategies is not as easy to come by in the federal budget as is money for conventional economic development/infrastructure projects.

The FY10 Consolidated Appropriations Act that passed Congress during the past week includes $124.7 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and $69.9 million for the Technology Innovation Partnership (TIP). Both initiatives are within the National Institute of Standards & Technology. MEP is a nationwide network of centers that strives to make U.S. manufacturers leaner, more competitive and more innovative.

To help train future scientists and support cutting-edge research in health and environmental issues, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell is recommending $109.5 million in the FY11 capital budget for the University of Alaska Life Sciences Facility in Fairbanks. The multi-purpose teaching and research facility would house the Department of Biology and Wildlife and accommodate a wide-range of research programs, reports Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

To keep alive the underground deep science laboratory, a National Science Foundation (NSF) research priority for scientific discovery in geophysics, Gov. Mike Rounds is asking lawmakers to approve $5.4 million in special appropriations for bridge funding through May 2011. During his budget presentation to the legislature last week, Gov. Rounds told lawmakers the $35 million allocated toward the effort in 2004 and 2005 would run out this month and $250 million in anticipated NSF funding would not be available until 2011.

In an effort to spur greentech innovation, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has announced that the next 3,000 green technology patent filings will be eligible for an accelerated review process. About 25,000 pending applications will also be eligible for the pilot program, which could shave as much as a year off the process. Read more at: http://www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2009/09_33.jsp.